Mutual
by Panur
Summary: Piccolo and Chichi could easily bond over various things. Goku just happens to be the most important of them. Post-cell Saga fic, with mentions of Goku/Chichi and impossible Piccolo/Chichi and Goku/Piccolo.
1. Chapter 1

AN: This is my first ever fic on the Dragon Ball fandom… A show I haven't watched in seriously like… 6 years or so! I still don't know what possessed me to write this, but Piccolo has always been my absolutely favourite character and one of the parts of DBZ I enjoyed the most was when he interacted with ChiChi.

I will admit I'm a rabid shipper of these two, but there is so much more to their relationship that I can be contented with just what this fic works with. Sorry to disappoint fellow shippers, but the only confirmed pairings you will see mentioned here are Chichi/Goku and a vague mention of Bulma/Vegita. Everything else will be handled from a purely analytical point of view, which I hope you are able to enjoy. To anyone taking their time to read, thank you!

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**Mutual:**

Gohan looks as puzzled as Piccolo feels when the boy tells him his mother wants to see him. Still, it's only been a few weeks since the end of Cell's tournament, and while the world is still celebrating the victory of the greatest hero in history- he swears the next airplane he sees dropping confetti and photos of Mr. Satan will go down in a mass of flames-, Gohan is still mourning.

He supposes it would show more if it weren't for the boy's unnatural physiology. Maybe if he were more than just half-human, the rings around his eyes would be more noticeable, and the natural tan on his skin would show more of the sickly pallor underneath, but Saiyans are a warrior race born to rise from bloody battlefields, and their bodies refuse to show any hints of weakness.

And so, while Gohan's body looks as fit and ready as Piccolo knows it to be, his eyes appear dead.

Piccolo knows him, knows the thoughts gnawing at his mind and the guilt overriding him. Goku had all the trust in the world in him, trusted him to be even stronger than he himself was, and despite it having been true, Gohan feels his father died because he failed. Never mind the fact that he had saved the world, that he had defeated the strongest enemy they had ever faced- Goku is dead, and probably not even thinking about them as he trains in the afterlife.

Not for the first time, the Namekian is surprised at how much he wishes he could strangle Goku. Just a little, to make himself feel better.

He would probably want to do it more if it weren't because he is pretty sure, for once in his life, Goku understood how utterly selfish and careless he was being with his own son. By then, it was too late, of course, but at least he had understood it.

Unlike others.

And unlike Goku, he would very much like to strangle a certain Saiyan prince more than just "a little"- and _that_ would certainly make him feel much better.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he stands from his admittedly failed attempt at meditation, and follows the boy back home. Chi-Chi probably wants to discuss Gohan's situation, or just drive him mad for the hell of it. Either way, it would be a welcome distraction from too many thoughts that he is tired of mulling over.

******* TBC *******


	2. Chapter 2

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It turns out she is going for the ' driving him mad for the hell of it' option.

"I need a ride."

He stares at her for a few seconds, watches her go around in the kitchen, cleaning utensils and surfaces as she tastes this, fixes that, and all around manages about seven full course dishes at the same time. And that's only because Goku is gone and Gohan is inappetent. He knows she's capable of doing more than four times this much without burning or messing anything up. Her multitasking abilities never cease to impress him, and it's undoubtedly because of this that it takes longer than it should for him to process her words.

"… What?"

"I need a ride," she repeats in the exact same tone, and Piccolo gets the distinct feeling he is being baited. He probably wouldn't if it were anyone else, but this is Chi-Chi he was dealing with, and the human female isn't telling him where she wants to go, nor is she even looking at him. If she were just trying to annoy him, she would tell him what she needed him for, probably number some completely inane tasks anyone else could have done. But she's asking _him_ and not telling him _why_ and that makes him instantly suspicious.

Maybe it is something important. Or maybe she's just messing with his mind- he wouldn't put it past her to dare to do just that. Either way, the battle between morbid curiosity and instant, flat out refusal, is eventually won.

He glowers at her and asks: "Why me?"

"I knew you would drive me."

And trust the dark-haired female to answer him something that completely dodges his actual question. He's sure if he could get her to look up and stop hiding her eyes under her bangs, he would see that malicious glint he's come to associate with pure evil and Goku's wife in general.

"You could have asked Vegeta's woman," he states.

If it were that important, she more than likely would have, right? He never stops to think about it much, but he has the feeling the blue-haired woman is the closest thing to a friend Chi-Chi has, so it would have to be the older woman, not due closeness, as much as the lack of options.

"Her name is Bulma." He knows that too. He just wants to make her mad in retaliation for her being troublesome, female, and not afraid of him... more or less in that order.

"And I forbid you to associate her in any way, shape, or form with that bastard. Besides, she's busy."

Her loathing for the man instantly appeases him. It's surprisingly pleasant to know the only one that doesn't blame the Saiyan prince for all that's happened seems to be the bastard himself, but bonding over mutual hatred or not, he's not going to give in that easily.

"Why not Krillin? He'd take you."

"If I took Krillin, everyone would find out immediately."

Oh yes, he is being baited.

"Find out what?"

She looks up and smirks at him. He isn't surprised to see that evil glint in her dark eyes… and something else. Something that makes him grit his teeth.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

He does.

"Wench."

******* TBC *******


	3. Chapter 3

He doesn't ask where she wants to go, just to infuriate her.

He can almost physically feel how much she wants him to cave in and ask, yet no matter how curious he is, he simply isn't going to. He just drives ahead towards the city, as he supposes that's where she wants to go, and because there isn't any other place he would think she would be interested in going. You can't get to Roshi's island by car, and as he correctly assumes, Chi-Chi is almost as big on making friends as he is.

Forty minutes into the otherwise completely silent drive, Chi-Chi is ready to kill him and Piccolo is starting to have troubles to keep himself from smirking in triumph. She hasn't said anything yet, but there is still miles and miles to go, and he still hasn't asked her anything or even spoken to her despite the fact she has tried to make him.

She had stared fixedly at him for exactly fifteen minutes until his skin felt as if there were insects crawling underneath while he looked intently ahead without acknowledging her presence. She had then started sighing about three times each minute- long, drawn-out sighs and pointed staring that he had just as pointedly ignored. That had been followed by her rapping her nails repeatedly against the window, over and over, until he contemplated simply removing them- the windows, the woman, the nails, all of the above. She fiddled with the radio uninterruptedly for three minutes. She _hummed_. If she had known what a torture whistling was to him, she would have doubtlessly launched into an enthusiastic concert.

And all through it, he said absolutely _nothing_.

"You are a _bastard_, you know that?" she finally snaps, her eyes blazing darkly and her skin looking pale and cold in the sunlight streaming through the window.

"Not really," he replies, and this time, it is too much to keep himself from smirking, and so he does. "I can quite assure you that I am my Sire's offspring"

"And you certainly know how to make your dear Papa _proud, _don't you?"

He frowns, finding the comment strange enough to warrant him looking off the road and to the woman in the seat next to him, her eyes again blazing. Very large eyes in a pale, pale face. Had they always been so dark, her skin so pale? He feels vaguely worried about how she looks, and feels a mixture of guilt and anger at the emotion.

"… What is that supposed to mean?"

Her eyes narrow at him, her pink mouth parting to reveal tightly pressed teeth.

"Don't think," she grits, "that I don't know how you look at him. What you want from him."

Piccolo is still staring at her when she reaches for the wheel and straightens the car before they run into a large tree, his eyes going back to the road as he stops gaping and concentrates on driving once more.

Oh.

_That_.

His mind is left disturbingly blank for the next minutes except for her repeated words .

So she knows what he wants from Goku? That would be really helpful, actually. Maybe she could tell him, because to this day, Piccolo isn't sure _what_, exactly, he wants from the stupid monkey. And if he knew, maybe he could sever those ties that bound him to Goku and Gohan and Chi-Chi, because sometimes those bonds felt like if they are controlling his life.

Still, he knows what she means, only he doesn't know how to feel about it. He isn't embarrassed because Chi-Chi is wrong, and because that kind of shame is completely unknown to him. He couldn't have embarrassed himself, or his Sire- or anyone for the matter-, with something he isn't able to _feel._

"I don't have a sexual inclination, Chi-Chi."

His voice is still slightly surprised, as if he isn't sure how they ended up in this kind of conversation. He frowns, hardening it. "My race doesn't need it."

"But if you had one, it would be for Goku," she answers immediately, that same infuriating smugness still in her voice. It irritates him. It makes him smile. No one in the world can make him feel more like Piccolo Daimaoh Jr. than Chi-Chi.

"… Possibly," he concedes after a pause.

Her answer is to grin at him in such a way that makes him wonder if she's pleased with herself or just wants to skin him alive. He's careful to keep his eyes off her until it's gone.

******* TBC *******


	4. Chapter 4

Namekians don't have libidos, so his attraction to Goku can't be sexual, or even romantic in nature.

He isn't jealous of the fact that Chi-Chi is his wife, and he is sure he wouldn't care if he had a different woman for each day of the week. He isn't possessive either, because he's never minded Goku spending time with Krillin or that man with the scar on his cheek.

He doesn't even feel that frustrated over the fact that now his greatest enemy would be Vegeta, not as much as it used to. He doesn't feel like he owes him anything for sparing him in their first fight nor does he feel guilty for having killed him when Raditz came to Earth- the first he only found weird, but not really (he understands the thrill of having a strong opponent), and the second because as simple as Goku might be, they both understand that it was the only possible course of action at the time. He didn't kill him for revenge, but out of a necessity.

He doesn't want kindness, or friendship, or sex from him.

Still, he gets the kindness and his friendship -the sex part would be awkward, really, so he's quite relieved he doesn't get that. He just... wants Goku to be there.

He enjoyed the time training with him for the coming of the androids, the constant pushing of himself to his limits. He enjoyed not having to hold back at all, knowing that even if he managed to hurt the other seriously, the idiot would laugh it off... because Goku was an idiot, and he never would hold it against him. If he told him that he hated him, the other probably wouldn't even believe it.

Saiyans truly were a stupid race. Vegeta had all but confirmed that rule for him recently with the whole Cell incident.

And he does hate Goku sometimes. He hates the fact he stole his child just to hurt him, and the idiot never got it, though he sometimes he wonders if Chi-Chi hates him in Goku's place. He hates that Goku was actually thankful for the fact he taught Gohan to fight, the fact that now they share his love, and that Gohan has become yet another link tying his life to the Saiyan warrior. So much of his life is defined by Goku, directly and indirectly, it overwhelms him and he sometimes wonders what would have been of him if he'd never met Goku... if the stupid monkey had died as a result of the fight with his Sire. What would have happened then?

He doesn't want to know and he doesn't want to think about it, just like he doesn't want to think about the fact Goku sacrificed himself out of his usual innocent obliviousness and instead concentrates on how this is all Vegeta's fault.

He almost contemplates voicing that thought, and perhaps indulge in some mutual bonding through common hatred, when the female next to him suddenly folds on herself, one hand on her stomach and the other over her mouth, eyes wide and unfocused. He slams the brake in a way that would have destroyed the car if he hadn't taken the driving lessons three times until he got them right- better than Goku, that is-, and he is out of the car and dragging her out of the seat in a heartbeat, all without noticing the way her knees are buckleing.

He tries to pick her up, but she flails in such a way that he starts considering knocking her out just to get her to stop. She then doubles over and he has to use his speed to avoid getting her to vomit all over the shirt he's borrowing from Goku. Chi-Chi falls to her knees and narrowly misses actually dropping on her own waste.

"Bastard!" Had she been _aiming_ for him? He laughs even as he tries to help her up, being careful to stay behind her, and helps her to the side of the road, inwardly wincing at the way she tenses under his hands each time a new heave goes through her small form, now worrying that something really is wrong with her.

"Forget the car, I'm taking you to Korin's tower," he says once she's calmed down some. Her face is milky white with blue undertones, and she's shaking. Her eyes suddenly have blue-purple bruises around them and he wonders what the hell he is going to tell Gohan if his mother turns out to have one of those horribly mortal diseases humans are so prone to. Would the senzu seeds cure her? Goku had more than just a little handful of them through his life and it still took the medicine Trunks brought from the future to treat his heart's condition.

"No."

Though maybe the seeds _did_ keep the sickness at bay for all those years? If they kept her on a regular diet-

"What?"

For a moment, he gawks at her, and this time she has the nerve of laughing at him. He hadn't been able to help it. He had been going through his mind in a frenzy trying to find out what she might have, how to treat it, and what to do in general and her refusal had been the vocal equivalent to an unexpected punch in the gut.

"We are not going to that tower. I'm sick and tired of going to that niche every time something goes wrong, as if that could save us..."

He opens his mouth, ready to tell her she has a son to look after and even if Goku doesn't think about those kinds of things, she is _supposed_ to, because she is the rational parent, the thoughtful parent, and a whole lot of things that would be oh-so practically wrapped in an 'I'm-not-asking-and-you-are-going', but then she continues.

"I don't think that what I have can be cured with those seeds."

His sensitive hearing seems to catch all the hidden undertones, all the complicated shift of emotions in that single sentence and he is again caught between the guilt and that usual anger that minding about her well-being brings.

He is not letting her get away with this.

"Then I'm taking you to the hospital."

Her answer is a shuddering breath.

"We were going there anyway."

He wonders how the hell she manages to look so god-damned smug with herself even as she continues to empty her stomach on the side of the road.

******* TBC *******


	5. Chapter 5

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Piccolo stares in disgusted fascination as the human accepts his water canteen, taking a sip before spitting it out, then repeating the process.

Her hair is now in a ponytail, her bun having been messed up by her violent retching moments before. He's sure he's seen this before somewhere. Shorter, perhaps, but-

"What?" she barks, pushing her sweaty bangs off her face.

"You were there the first time I fought Goku."

She sips more water, dark eyes narrowing at him.

"I remember. It was the most ridiculous proposal I have ever seen. "

"Oh, I'm sure you have seen lots of proposals-"

Her mutters dissolve as she walks back to the car. He could make them out if he paid a mind to, but he doesn't. She tosses the canteen somewhere to the side and he knows it's because she knows him and knows he won't accept it back after seeing her throw up, and she knows this at such a primal level she probably doesn't even have to consciously think about it.

Chi-Chi is sometimes so in tune with him, it's almost harmonic. They have never spent that much time together and they certainly didn't understand each other, but the knowledge and affinity was there, and it had gone both ways almost since the moment Goku informed his irate little wife Piccolo was there to stay and train with them.

Namekians reproduce asexually, and so he isn't attracted to Chi-Chi either, but if he had to pick a female to have offspring with, he'd pick her. She's strong for a human, and she's brave and she's probably the only human in this world that he respects. If this is so because she is Goku's, or because of her herself, doesn't really matter. If it hadn't been for Goku, he wouldn't have met her, after all.

"… I look a mess, I know."

He makes a dismissive noise, the sudden bout of vanity, the smallest hint of embarrassment in her voice making him relax. Does she care what he thinks of her or about how she looks? He never would have expected it.

"I wasn't thinking that."

She does look a mess, but seeing her with her hair down is different, interesting enough to keep him distracted.

"What are you thinking about, then?"

A part of him is tempted to tell her that he had been considering having hypothetical children with her, just to see what kind of face she would make, but he is quick to discard it. She might say or do another annoyingly unexpected something, and he's had enough of those today. The last thing he needs is something that might worry him even more.

"What would you have done if you hadn't met him?"

He thinks he might have meant the question as some sort of jab- see her get defensive and angry again, maybe help her feel a bit better, but the question ends up serious and her eyes again are on him, almost hurtful. She looks at him as if saying _'What right do you have to ask me that?_'. She averts them before he can bring himself to.

"… I don't know." She puts a hand over her eyes, rubs them lightly, then drops her hand and leans back against the seat.

"He's there. _Everywhere_."

Controlling her life and completely oblivious of it? Unknowingly twisting, adjusting her, leaving no exits, no chance to escape, because even with him gone, he's still there. Especially when he is gone. His existence is set to stifle and suffocate and own them in a way he doesn't even realize, a way he has no right to. Chi-Chi wants Goku- that's clear to him- just like he does, and just as differently.

Has Goku ever made her happy?

He gets back in the car and no further words are exchanged between them until they arrive at the hospital.

******* TBC *******


	6. Chapter 6

She forces him to come inside with her. Whether it was to embarrass him, send him into a killing spree, or just freak the hospital staff with a seven foot tall green demon, he can't tell. They spend less than ten minutes making awkward conversation about absolutely nothing, though he's sure there is a sort of apologetic undertone to it. If it's on her part or his, he isn't sure, but he has the feeling it's stemmed from the conversation they endured in the car.

The relief when she is called inside and they are forced to drop it is palpable enough, even if her leaving makes him suddenly aware there are people staring and whispering about him- which is irritating, but he can manage. There is, however, a little brat screaming his head off while his mother reads a magazine, pretending the howling creature next to her isn't a part of her reality, and the usual desire to strangle is back with a vengeance.

_Humans_.

Taking over the world is no longer important to him. It seemed to be an absolute once, but that is probably what's left of his Sire inside his person. He'd like to blame his disinterest on having fused with Kamisama and Neil, their softer, more benign personalities affecting him, but Piccolo doesn't lie to others, and he refuses to start with himself.

He has other things to live for, and it`s simple as that.

It isn't that he's doing it out of a newfound gentleness in his heart or anything remotely akin to it. He just knows it would be too much work.

Just thinking about owning the world and all the pitiful, troublesome creatures in it, being responsible for them not killing each other… He feels it's more than enough with just saving their collective asses each time something new threatens to blow up the world. Namekians are perfectionists by nature, and he's been a nit-picker since birth. He knows what would happen if he went along with it: it would end up with him depressed over his own inefficiency or destroying the human race in the middle of a temper tantrum.

The latter seems the most likely possibility as his eardrums are steadily pierced by the brat's shrieks. It keeps him from hearing whatever is going on inside the examination room Chi-Chi has walked in. He knows nothing of human medicine, so he wonders what could they be doing to her.

Probably filling charts. Humans seemed to like filling things on paper. He's seen Chi-Chi and Gohan doing that several times. Probably something else too, something that would serve to find out why she was vomiting a little while ago. Possibly getting shots for it.

Goku would have already blown half of the hospital trying to get away.

Figures that the man that hadn't seemed to care about breaking every single bone in his body except for his neck, and that seemed to enjoy getting pounded into the dirt by strong rivals would scream like a little girl over a needle. Who has told him this? Gohan, he thinks, or perhaps Krillin.

Had it been Chi-Chi?

Have they ever actually talked about Goku before this day, or had all of it been so implicit she's been as wary of doing it as he is? And why now, from all the times they could have done it before?

He tells the child that he'll eat him if he doesn't stop screaming. His jaw-slacked, horrified stare and subsequent fleeing makes him feel marginally better.

******* TBC *******

I want to apologize to everyone that's been kind enough to read this story so far! I'm sorry I haven't been uploading at the rate it was expected to, it's just I tend to procrastinate a lot ^^; I tend to forget I have this things laying around, silly me...

I just wanted to let everyone know how happy you've made me with all this lovely reviews, especially AAA! I'm really flattered by the things you said, especially because this was another story created solely to get rid of the cavorting plot bunny through my mind and nibbling at my tasty brains! Just so you know, next chapter was supposed to be the last one, but because of your support I've decided to add an extra one! It will take me some time to get it written and beat-ed, but it will hopefully make for a better closure that next chapter would have been! Thank you all for all the encouragement, and hope to hear more from you! (I`ve also fixed a few uploading errors on the lasts post, please let me know if I missed any!)


	7. Chapter 7

When the sobbing female runs past him, he does nothing.

She's already on the hospital steps and nearly tripping down them by the time it takes him to realize it had been Chi-Chi, and then he's outside and catching her before she can do anything. He doesn't hold her to be comforting and he doesn't do it to try and make her stop crying. Maybe if it had been another day, any other day before this one, he would have said something to make her back straighten and glare at him, if only because seeing her like this makes him uncomfortable, but today he holds her because she is hysterical and some pivotal part of him has completely shut down and he's suddenly doing what he never had done before, deciding to send rationality to the moon and have a tea party with panic.

He doesn't care what she has or what she _thinks_ she has, or what he thinks she _might_ have. He cares that he's going to shove a handful of seeds down her throat if he has to force his arm all the way to her stomach for it. Whatever she has **needs** to get better, even if he has to overdose her on healing seeds and whatever trick Mr. Popo can pull from his metaphorical sleeves, because Goku is gone for now, but Chi-Chi has always been there, and if she isn't, he can't-

"I'm pregnant," she says.

What he answers to that hardly can account as sensitive, but thankfully for him, Piccolo has never exactly been the type.

"That's _all_?"

She looks up at him from the circle of his arms, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

"Well, excuse me for thinking something as petty as me having another child might be worthy of your attention!" she half-sobs, half laughs at him, and he glares at her.

"I thought you were sick!"

"I am. Babies make women sick."

Piccolo takes a small moment to contemplate the wonders of human reproduction and ponder that if their young make the carrying parents this sick to show its presence, it's no wonder humans are a race that invariably end up fighting against each other.

"… Aren't you supposed to be happy about it?" His knowledge on the matter is limited, but weren't all pregnant women supposed to be ecstatic about reproducing?

"Yes I… yes. I am happy."

"You don't look it."

"And you don't look like someone that 'possibly' might be interested in fucking my husband, and yet here we are."

He just stares back at her, slowly letting go.

He knows her and he understands that the comment was said to put him on the defensive again, but he can't understand what she's talking about, and so he can't feel humiliated by it. Both are too different, and neither can really understand something as simple as sexual want or lack of thereof. Yet somehow, the bind is still the same. Chi-Chi just looks slightly disappointed about his lack of care and reaches up to lace an arm around his, her hand tightening slightly over the slight ridges on his skin.

"… Sometimes I feel like if the only part of him I can ever have is through our children," she says. She's stopped crying, but her eyes are large and wet, and her smile is cynical enough to rival him at his best. "Does that make me selfish?"

He would like to answer to her. _Yes, no, maybe, I don__'__t care, I don__'__t know_, any kind of answer at all, but he can't bring himself to, because he does care and he does know.

And her words make him feel sick to his stomach, which is rather funny, considering Namekians don't eat.

"Are you going to help me?" she asks. Her voice is soft and even. Polite. He admires the way that any inflection is carefully kept out of her voice, making her sound like if she doesn't care about his answer.

"What. No mind games? No subtle manipulation?" he asks in a slightly desiderative tone.

"…I think we are past that by now."

Trust Chi-Chi not to take the bait when he offered them both an easy way out of this conversation that neither wants to have.

"Why are you asking me?"

She doesn't answer. They walk to the car and get in, neither of them saying anything for some time. This time the silence is broken by him.

"Why did we have to start talking about this?"

The dark haired woman turns to him, her pink lips curling lightly into a half-smile.

"Who else would we tell of this?"

Who else could they have, really? Piccolo couldn't imagine himself even contemplating any of the things he had already lengthily been exposed to, both mentally and verbally. Piccolo had too many new things in his mind to ponder, much more than he ever wanted to be aware of, and if he had told anyone else, they wouldn't have known what he talking about, or what he meant.

"He asphyxiates me." It´s a statement not devoid of some dark humor. The monkey would be horrified if he knew of any of this.

Goku is everywhere, in everything that surrounds him... And it's not bad to have it there, but when the awareness of it hits, there is just not enough air. Not for him, not for Chi-Chi, and if after that day Gohan slowly started to drown along, he wouldn`t be surprised at all. And damn her, she is thinking the same things he is, because there's a worried expression in her face and her eyes are watering again.

"And me…?"

He turns to stare at her, and after several seconds, he smiles, nothing cynical or biting about it.

"No. You just drive me insane."

Chi-Chi looks shocked for a second or two before letting out an unladylike snort of laughter and punching him squarely in the jaw, and by that point, he's feeling affectionate enough as not to dodge it.

******* TBF *******

There you have it guys… this is the canon ending to this story. I'm still working on an epilogue, but I really can't promise you how it will go, as I haven't worked in this story for so long I'm kind of afraid of ruining it if I want to pick it up. I can only promise to try my best.

Thank you so much to everyone who has followed this story and left such nice and meaningful comments… I was very indecisive about uploading this story, but I'm very glad I did now. I can't thank you enough for all the nice words. I hope you have enjoyed the ride so far :3


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